Customer Reviews

Box Nine

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Jack O'Connell's Box Nine succeeds in many departments: It has an evocative and original setting, snappy dialogue and a super female lead that oozes charisma. And although the idea of a synthetic and brain-enhancing drug (Lingo), sweeping the streets and changing a culture is a nice idea, I don't think he pulls it off with much conviction.

Jack O'Connell is one of my favorite authors I love the Combat Zone and all of its quirky, demented characters. Postal Service...Box 9... it doesn't get much better then this if you like very unusual settings and characters. I've just had a taste of his newest, "Word Made Flesh," and am already intrigued. Jack, you've made my next week of reading!

Box Nine by Jack O'Connell is a riveting crime story following the fall from grace of a detective and her brother as they fight with the complexities and complications that linguistics has to offer. In his other book I reviewed earlier, Word Made Flesh, Mr. O'Connell uses linguistics and the semantics of a semantically deprived linguist to embark on a journey where the word is made flesh. In this story, he follows again in the path of logic, semantics, and meanings, but this time focuses on the supersensory experience that might be experienced by people with hyper sensitive language centers of the brain. Whereas the other story was one of depravation, this one is full of overindulgence, rancid sensual stimulants, and over the top characterization of the main players. He continues to use the jumping back and forth between scenes to keep the pace moving smoothly forward, and twists the end around his little finger like a wedding band on a trailer keeper. A very interesting read, and a book that will keep you wondering about the boundaries of language and reality, and where the line between them blurs.

Lenore Thomas is one of the most memorable characters in recent fiction - a powerfully intense figure who dominates an equally intense debut novel. O'Connell creates a world - and a drug - that make an indelible impact on the reader.

What a blast. My first exposure to O'Connell will not be my last. I've ordered all the rest of his books (yes, ALL). I haven't had this much fun reading a book in ages. It's hard to believe that this is a first book.

Read the Amazon description for the plot line. What I can add is that it is all about the people and the craziness of their future world that, though strange, is not unimaginable. O'Connell can write dialog and pull you in to his city.

Crime fiction does not get any better than the books of Jack O'Connell. Lots of writers try hard to emulate the likes of Leonard, Crumley, and Burke, but only O'Connell can stand with them and, quite often, rise above them. Hunt down copies of his books---there're well worth the effort.

Simply put, Jack O'Connell's books belong at the very top of the list of Best and Most Original Crime Novels Ever Written. BOX NINE is his first, and serves as a perfect introduction to his eclectic vision of post-industrial America gone mad.